A shocker in South Beach

There was a major celebration on South Beach after Wednesday night's game between Duke and Miami.

If you had asked me before the game which team would win in a blowout, I would have said odds are Duke would win that type of game.

Instead, it was Miami that rolled to an absolute blowout.

Miami entered Wednesday night 0-6 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams. The Hurricanes did not care about that stat as Jim Larranaga's team outplayed the No. 1 Blue Devils.

In all of my years of calling games, I cannot remember seeing Duke struggle like that. Miami was able to penetrate and get so many easy baskets. It was layup after layup, dunk after dunk. It was a true a mismatch, pretty much over late in the first half.

I thought Duke could make it interesting if it cut the lead to 10 or so early in the second half. Instead, it got worse.

Give Miami credit for this win. Defense led to plenty of fast-break points. Duke had a horrible night shooting, with Seth Curry, Quinn Cook and Tyler Thornton really having a tough time.

Early on, the Blue Devils had a number of open looks but missed. The Hurricanes ended up taking advantage of the poor shooting.

Miami fans were excited going into the game, and for good reason. It was the first sellout of the season. The team got a lift with the return of big man Reggie Johnson, who was supposed to miss a few more weeks with a thumb injury. Durand Scott, Shane Larkin and Kenny Kadji were outstanding.

In the end, Duke will use this loss as a teaching moment. Thursday's practice should be pretty intense, my friends.

Dick Vitale, college basketball's top analyst and ambassador, joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season. His thorough knowledge of the game is brought forth in an enthusiastic, passionate style. Vitale also contributes columns to ESPN.com.